Antibirth

source: Antibirth

Antibirth is a unique movie full of unexpected twists and turns. There will be points where you want to look away from the screen in disgust, but cannot bring yourself to do it because of being curious of what will happen next. Lou (Natasha Lyonne) struggles to come to terms with her miraculous pregnancy and tries to deal with it through the use of drugs and alcohol, while also experiencing hallucinations and changes to her body which cannot be explained. The movie features sensational acting by Natasha Lyonne throughout and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a movie which stands out from one like any other.

Honestly, I was very sceptic going into this movie, however after letting my guard down and allowing the film to get going, I was drawn into its strange world. The whole experience was a rollercoaster ride. Some of the scenes are immaculately shot, the cinematography really impressed me and took me off guard more than once. And then, during some other scenes I just kept thinking: "oh my god why did they edit it this way?" The performances are mostly good, the editing, as stated before, has its ups and downs. Honestly just give this movie a shot if you like campy weird horror movies.

Antibirth is a commentary on the debauchery of Western society which has lead to the breakdown of the family. One of the consequences of the breakdown of the family is that there are many alcoholic and gluttonous single women around and they have no interest in settling down or having babies. The evil government is now trying to use such lost single women to incubate some sort of alien life form which cannot survive on earth. But the unhealthy womb of the alcoholic and gluttonous female is a perfect breeding ground for this demonic looking alien life form. The film wasn't bad. It could have used better writing. Natasha Lyone is quite good as the female version of Billy Bob Thorton's Bad Santa. Not as memorable though. Bad Santa had great writing. Antibirth did not. Chloe Sevigny is unremarkable in a supporting role. Meg Tilly was unrecognizable as a healer. It is sort of a film of place with the whole redneck milieu and characters living in trailers. There aren't too many films about Americans who live in trailers (I can think of Cockfighter, Charley Varrick and Killer Joe). The indie-rock (I don't know what else to call it) soundtrack and the background score were interesting. I liked the use of slow motion throughout the film especially during the film's beginning. The ending was done quite well. I'm glad i watched it. (5/10)

"Antibirth" starts out promising with some really intriguing characterizations from Natasha Lyonne and Chloe Sevigny. The screenplay has some great dialogue, and Ms. Lyonne in particular is, as usual, fascinating to watch. Unfortunately, as the film begins to develop a plot it becomes more and more derivative, confusing and absurd and stops being enjoyable; it just becomes plodding and dull. There are so many stereotypical subplots from body-horror films as well as ripoffs from "Rosemary's Baby," "Demon Seed" and others that "Antibirth" just becomes another minor product aimed at the quickie Hollywood horror market. Meg Tilly is wasted and looks as though she's still trying to figure out the plot herself during her scenes. I recommend watching the first fifteen minutes and then turning it off and doing something more productive... I stayed until the end and felt ripped off waiting for something to original to happen.

As a horror buff, I will usually watch anything, even grainy B-roll films or the kind of movies where the soundtrack is delayed by about 3 seconds or the music is really loud and the audio really quiet, or terrible acting or terrible special effects. This movie had none of that. It was really well done, and felt like a mainstream film. It's got the acting and high quality, but most importantly it's an interesting story that really makes you want to keep watching! I mean, don't get me wrong- we are talking about a protagonist with some very undesirable traits- but there's still something about it regardless of the undesirable content that you just don't want to look away from! And the lead character, some of her best roles are playing the smartass druggie but- she does it so well, this is really her best role! Was she typecast? Probably, but it paid off. She does great. I love the pace at which the story unfolds, telling a little at a time and leading up to a satisfyingly humorous and also appropriate ending that really ties it all together. Despite the racy content and the often deprecating humor, this movie had more to offer than most mainstream films nowadays! It's just too bad that not that many people will have a chance to find this diamond in the rough.

Some folks are partying, a girl named Lou is dragged somewhere by a guy. Next the girl meets with some girlfriends complaining about not feeling well. They joke that she's pregnant. Some sinister guys are collecting urine from females in a fridge. One of them has her lips chewed off or something. Lou in the meantime starts feeling weirder and weirder and sicker and sicker and indeed starts developing a belly. But that doesn't keep her from getting high non-stop. She has some weird visions. All this takes place in some poor town with a Marine base. There's an awful lot of talk and taking drugs and ridiculous music and silly visions. At some point Lou meets a woman who seems to have some idea what's going on. She tells her that someone has implanted her with something. She suspects the government is behind this. With her help Lou tracks down some of the bad guys and we more or less find out what they are up to. It doesn't take long for Lou to be full term and to give birth and here the movie manages to surprise. Some other characters also make an appearance and things do get interesting. Antibirth focuses on a bunch of ugly people doing ugly things and who listen to hideous music. It's not easy caring about any of them or what's going on, which isn't really much. This is one of those movies, where everything that is said matters. At this pace the movie would have been a solid 2/10. But then suddenly the ending is pretty surprising. The movie works toward something, you know or hope that something interesting will happen, but at the same time you quickly give up. But then suddenly the movie does deliver and it changes one's perspective of the entire film for the better. Clearly a lot more could have been done with this script and the budget should have allowed for a better movie.

Danny Perez knows how to create a scene that is a complete work of art.He is a friend and admirer of his two leading stars Natasha Lyonne and Chloe Sevigny.His vision of making a film came to life with the support of Natasha,so this is their baby!. Meg Tilly gave a dynamic performance along with a Stella cast of supporting actors. Personally I love Natasha Lyonne,she brings a vibrancy to any role she plays.As Lou she keeps it raw and real with a hint of revolting in more ways than one. Natasha and Chloe together is always going to be interesting to see,they have a long history built on love that has fortified their relationship.This adds depth to the interaction of their characters in the film. I enjoyed the dance scenes and the music. I will end on a word of warning if you are pregnant I'd wait till you have given birth BEFORE you watch it,like the next day would be fine. ENJOY

---- Spoilers, you have been warned ---- Well. Where do I start? My boyfriend is off in France for two weeks and I was looking for ways to entertain myself, keep in mind I am a huge fan of Natasha Lyonne, I knew about this film from day one of its announcement, but got sick of my Twitter and took a break, got disconnected and WELL to my surprise, managed to stumble across this long awaited film by pure accident and had no second thoughts about watching it. Now, from the first second of watching the film, I knew it was going to be crazy, yes there was a party but then Lou was sitting in someone's house asking a vet about her chances of pregnancy? Okay. From that moment on, I knew this movie was right for me! Featuring a paranoid old lady (and a paranoid young one), sexual references (without actual sex) and immense drug use and references, yes this film is right up my alley! I chuckled at the while cream can part near the start of the film. The film basically features Lou making bad choices party wise and becoming insanely paranoid about her potential unplanned pregnancy. On top of that, drug use is destroying her, physically and mentally. 9/10 cause I feel the film was a little too unrealistic and out there for my liking, but wins at the same time because it was unpredictable. The effects where Lou turns into the monster were fantastic, definitely deserves applause. Okay like I said, I'm no expert with reviewing, but I hope that was okay! Can't wait to see Natasha, Chloe and the whole menagerie featured in more films like this someday!

Of course, I freely admit I would watch just about anything starring both Natasha Lyonne and Chloë Sevigny . . . what could possibly go wrong? OK, all joking aside (well, sort of), Natasha and Chloe are absolutely brilliant here, they nail their characters perfectly, and then some. As for the film itself, the best description that comes to mind is bizarre, twisted, completely ridiculous . . . and very fun to watch. This is definitely a low budget, B minus sci-fi horror genre' production, with a dash of evil ET conspiracy twists submerged in a veritable swamp of drug dazed existence. Even if the story, such as it is (or perhaps tries to be) is murky at best, the characters are perfect exaggerations of characters I've seen or met over the years. If anything, this production consists of a very loosely connected jigsaw puzzle of plot pieces, which serves as a sort of ecosystem for the aforementioned exaggerated real life type characters to flourish in. Well, maybe flourish isn't exactly the appropriate description here. But however one may want to judge this production, it certainly can't be criticized for lack of uniqueness. Chloë is particularly adept at playing various roles in unique productions ("Hit and Miss" immediately comes to mind), but this definitely rates as one of the more, well, experimental sorts of indie film productions she has appeared in. This film is certainly not for everyone, or even most, but for those with an proclivity toward indie projects more than just a bit outside the box, this just could be your cup of tea. I'll offer a somewhat tentative 6 stars for this one . . .